amy45

I'm looking for advice for what to do beyond Venice with a teenager. My 16 year old daughter and I will be traveling to Venice in late June. I had considered taking a Venice-Florence-Rome tour but so much of these tours (museums, churches) would bore my daughter to tears. Does anyone have suggestions on other places to visit in addition to Venice in northern Italy/Austria/Switzerland that would interest a teenager? we'll be renting a car so we can be pretty flexible. And we'll be traveling for about 10 days.

LoveItaly

Hello amy, well my daughter at that age sure wasn't bored with Rome but I assume you mean she would be bored with being on a tour. I agree.

Some thoughts in Northern Italy..Ravenna, Bologna (university city) Padova(Padua in English, another university city), Verona and my daughter has always loved Milan. It is so special to travel in Italy with ones daughter, I am sure you will both have a wonderful time! Oh, my daughter loved Stresa and the ferry out to Isola Bella.

pja1

Hi Amy,
With a car, if you and your daughter are interested in some very charming old towns, some castles, museums and churches with absolutely spectacular scenery, you may want to look into the Dolomites region of Italy. Not too far from Venice is Cortina di Ampezzo and across the "Dolomite Road" to Bressanone/Brixen.

www.bruneck.com/summer.htm
www.brixen.org
www.val-gardena.com
www.alpedisiusi-seiseralm.com/index.html

Paul

ira

Hi A,

10 days is great for Venice - 3 nights, Florence - 2 nights and Rome - 4 nights. In that order.

Fly into Venice and out of Rome.

You can easily arrange it yourself.

You won't need a car or a tour.

Lexma90

Consider what your daughter has enjoyed doing on any previous vacations you've taken, even in the U.S. (or wherever you're from). For example, if you tend to take more active vacations that involve biking or hiking, or time in the mountains, then the mountains of Italy, Austria or Switzerland may be more appropriate.

If, on the other hand, your daughter (and you, of course), love big cities, then Venice-Florence-Rome would be better. And, by the way, if you do that, you probably wouldn't need a car.

Because there's so much going on in the cities, your daughter (unless she's a real nature girl) would probably enjoy those the most, though smaller university cities, such as Bologna and Padua, would be fun too. But if you have 10 days, that's not a huge amount of time. There's plenty to do in those cities that doesn't involve churches or museums (though she should visit some of both, just because you're there).

When we first took our son to Europe, when he was 10, there were some places/things that I told him were "must-sees," even if he felt he wasn't interested, because of their important place in our culture and in history. The Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon Frieze at the British Museum were two of them. So we went to the British Museum, and that's all we looked at. But other things, I felt like, if he missed a "must-see," well, then, he could just go visit that must-see when he's a grownup. You may end up with the same kind of combination of important sites and those that she chooses.

One thing that I have found with our kids (son is now almost 13) is that while he doesn't take the lead in planning our vacations, he will check out places once I've narrowed things down. For example, on our trip that included southwest France last May, I gave him a short list of castles and their websites, and had him rate the castles, and say why. That gave me good information to go on in planning our itinerary.

And of course, you should be choosing some places that you want to visit, as well!

Steve_James

Hi Amy - You could combine the Dolomites and Lake Garda.

That would give you a choice of outdoor activities - if that interests you ...

Steve

amy45

I agree with all who posted....a first trip to Italy HAS to include Rome and Venice so we're going to stick to these two cities. Any suggestions on where to stay and eat in Rome and Venice? i'm thinking mid-priced that would be enjoyed by a mom and teenager. Centrally located, comfortable, safe. Also any tips on activities in these two cities that would interest us both (mom and teenage girl)? I have read a few travel books which keep things general (go to the Vatican, see the Coliseum, etc) but lack the perspective that addresses traveling with teens. For example, is it worth going to Pompeii? I've always wanted to go but would it be too long for a day trip? Would my daughter be bored? I know we would both enjoy the major sites but 'm looking to have a few other things to consider if the lines to these popular places get too long. Is the Amalfi Coast an option? Thanks in advance for all info!

xpcdoojk

amy45, I would not do Pompei as a day trip from Rome. It is a long drive. You might be able to do a train trip in a day with a late train back to the city. I would recommend if you want to see Pompei that you include a day or two on the Amalfi coast. The roads there are a nightmare, but we spent a week in a villa there in 2004 and it was probably the best week of vacation ever. You can easily take a day trip to Pompei and Herculaneum from anywhere on the Amalfi coast. The problem you have is 10 days. If you decide to focus on the cities and Rome and Venice are really fabulous it is going to be hard to do a proper service to other things. On our last trip to Italy we had 2+ weeks, and we spent part of it in Venice, Rome and the week in the villa in Amalfi. We didn't even try to do more and it was about perfect. Rome and Venice each need 3 to 4 days. So, you need to decide if you want to do cities or places like Amalfi. We are planning a driving trip in a circle from Frankfurt to Salzburg, to Cortina then to Switzerland then back to Frankfurt in 2 weeks. With no cities other than a couple of days in Salzburg. So, we are just going to see the pretty sights from the windows of our car and to do a little alpine meadow hiking.

My advice is to figure out what is most important to you history or scenery. IE Rome/Venice/Florence(which doesn't really require a car) or Dolomites and Amalfi(which does require a car).

jc

Big_Red

Vicenza for Architecture - Accessible by train

Bassano del Grappa - Nice small Italian city. Tucked up aginst the mountains. Accessible by train.

Marostica - a small Medieval town with walls and a tower. Near Bassano but bus and car, no train access.

Asolo also near Bassano is supposed to be nice as well.

Cortina, Padua, Parma, Ravenna and Bologna are good. You could take a boat to Chioggia at the southern of the Ventian lagoon and start from there.
Also, there are ferries that cross the Adriatic from Venice.

So what would mesh with your daughter's interests?

LAwoman

We're taking our 15 yr old daughter (& her 18 yr old brother) to Rome & Venice this summer. I don't have anything particularly helpful to offer - it depends on what your daughter likes. I know mine will enjoy riding around on the vaporetti, eating gelato, shopping in gift stores etc. Loves ghost tours. Historical sites, churches & museums, yes, in limited doses.

I like to read trip reports to get ideas - here are a couple I've enjoyed, involving teen girls, Venice & Rome:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34513204

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34504588

cmeyer54

a couple of thoughts if you want to stay in northern italy. Milan has the shopping that fashion types die for - even if its just to window shop. You can also see the Last Supper which is breath taking but also requires advance reservations. The Ferrari store is about 5 floors....and just fun to see. If she likes opera at all, tour LaScala. Verona is a quick and fun 1-2 days with an overnight. See Juliet's house (a bit tacky but fun), walk through the colosseum, hang with the folks at the cafes, etc. We flew into venice this past september, spend a couple of nights there, drove to Cortina to Bolzano through the dolomites, to Lake Garda/Como, to Milan, verona and back to Venice to fly home. Fun trip.

Mambo_

My daughter and I did a similar trip, for 15 nights in mid-May 2006. It will be a very special trip for you. Expect some mother/daughter stuff, of course! LOL

She had finished her college semester in Florence, so she picked out the itinerary. Three nights each in: Rome, Florence, Venice, Santa Margherita Ligure, and Nice.

It was good to start in the cities, with their scheduled museum visits, and then end the trip in the more leisurely oceanside locations, we thought.

I suggest you throw in at least one detour from the Italian Big Three, like the Italian coastline and/or the French Riviera. Or the French or Swiss Alps, etc. (We had also looked at staying in the Valle D'Osta (sp?) region, and taking a mountainside tram)

I think a teen would love so say she'd been to the French Riviera. We really enjoyed Nice for three nights on the French coast. Day-tripped to Antibes easily by train from there. Took city bus to St. Jean Cap Ferrat, and nearby villas. Here's my trip report link, if you're interested:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34810691

We also spent three nights in Santa Margherita Ligure, at a hotel my daughter knew of, in that small harbor city. You can do the Cinque Terre and Portofino, and others easily from there. Here's my report link:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34817303
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Mambo_

P.S. IMHO, do not rent a car. So much more fun to take the trains there, I think.
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LAwoman

I just noticed that amy hasn't been around for a few months...oh well, maybe some other mom/daughter combo will find the thread useful.

amy45

Thanks for all the advice! After much planning, we're going to spend 3 days (2 nights) in Venice, then rent a car, stop by Verona on our way to Cinque Terre. We'll stay there for 2 nights and then (here's where i need some advice) we have an open day before we head to Rome for three nights. I've read so much about Tuscany and can't decide where we should stay. Would y'all recommend we stop in Pisa on our travels and where in Tuscany should we stay for one night before heading to Rome?

Mambo_

I would personally prefer to stay a minimum of three nights in each place. I would add your extra night to Venice or the Cinque Terre.

Remember how much time you will spend in travel between places, checking in/out of hotels, packing and unpacking, getting oriented, etc.

I'd slow down the pace a bit. You have 9 nights or 10 total?
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Mimar

Well, to my mind staying overnight en route between the CT and Rome is slower travel. I would skip Pisa unless it excites your daughter.

In fact, she'll be less likely to get bored if you involve her in some of the planning. Why don't you give her the job of researching where to stop that one night?

amy45

Wow, I am a goofball. I just counted the actual nights we'll be in Italy and it's really only 8 (I accidentally counted the one night we'll be on the plane flying over to Venice). We leave Newark on June 16th arriving in Venice on the 17th and fly back home on the 25th. Maybe we should add a night while we're in CT and just make the long drive to Rome? I like the idea of parking it for a few days rather than packing/unpacking. it does seem to be a shame to miss Tuscany. Maybe the drive through it would give us a taste of what to visit next time?

Mambo_

Again, I say, take the train. You can drive in the USA, it's fun to travel like the Italians do, on trains. Much more relaxing.

Where are you staying in the Cinque Terre? Are you going to skip Florence? There are easy day-trips you can take in Tuscany, too.
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Mambo_

In case my other Mother-Daughter trip notes might help you, here they are:

Florence-- http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34813784

Rome-- http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34813272

Venice-- http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34814606
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